Skip to main content

Microsoft releases Outlook.com Premium in the U.S. for $20 a year until March 31

how to sync your Outlook calendar with an iPhone
Christian de Looper / Digital Trends
Microsoft’s Hotmail email service became Outlook.com in 2012, and since then the company has reworked it into arguably one of the best email services on the market. As a part of Microsoft’s Office 365 productivity platform, Outlook.com offers a full range of email, contact, calendar, and other capabilities to compete with services like Google’s Gmail.

Outlook.com has been going through a complete revision to its online experience, and Microsoft has been previewing a premium subscription that adds even more functionality. Now, Outlook.com Premium is officially available, although only to users in the United States, as Thurrott reports.

The Premium service offers the following features on top of Outlook.com’s basic offerings:

  • Ad-free inbox: You can now access your email, photos, and documents via the Outlook.com site without being bothered with banner advertising.
  • More personalized email: You can create completely customized email addresses for up to five users using your own domain name, such as “bob@bobandfamily.com.” If you already own a domain name, then you can use it with Premium as well. All of your custom email addresses can sync to your existing Outlook.com mailbox. This particular functionality is free for the first year, and you’ll need to own that domain name separately or pick a new one that can be purchased through GoDaddy.
  • Enhanced sharing: You can now share your Outlook.com calendar, contacts, and documents, with users sharing email addresses on your domain being automatically configured for sharing.

In addition, Outlook.com Premium users gain access to the same new inbox experience that’s being rolled out to all users through 2017. By now, you’re likely familiar with the new experience and should have a good idea of whether or not it meets your communications needs.

Premium subscriptions are currently available at the same $20 annual price that was in effect during the preview period, but that special pricing ends on March 31. After that, the price rises to $50 per year. If you’re a U.S. customer, you can sign up today.

Editors' Recommendations

Mark Coppock
Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for…
Best Surface Laptop and Surface Pro deals: From $450
Microsoft Surface Go 3 sitting on table.

If you want a thin and light laptop that's similar to the MacBook Air but not in the Apple ecosystem, then the Microsoft Surface lineup of laptops is absolutely the way to go. In fact, if you've seen the recent unwrapping of the business version of the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6, you might be fired up and ready to grab your own surface. Unfortunately, the Surface lineup can be quite expensive, which is why we've gone out and scoured the retailers for the best deals we could find and collected them below. So, be sure to check out everything, as well as some of these other great laptop deals if you aren't fully committed to the Microsoft Surface lineup.
Microsoft Surface Go 3 -- $450, was $550

Functioning as a 2-in-1 laptop that can switch between tablet mode and laptop mode, the Microsoft Surface Go 3 won't have trouble dealing with basic tasks as it's equipped with the Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y processor and 8GB of RAM. The 10.5-inch touchscreen with 1920 x 1080 resolution is bright and colorful, and its 128GB SSD is more than enough for your documents. The Microsoft Surface Go 3 ships with Windows 11 Home in Mode, so you can start using it as soon as you unbox it. The device also promises up to 11 hours of battery life before requiring a recharge.

Read more
Best GPU deals: MSI, XFX, EVGA
An AMD graphics card in an external GPU enclosure.

If you're building a new PC from scratch, or upgrading an old one, then a new GPU is probably one of the biggest upgrades you can make, at least if you're looking for great gaming performance. Unfortunately, the last generation of RTX 40-series cards really amped the prices up, and even if you're going for AMD, you're going to be paying a pretty penny to get your hands on a good GPU. That said, there are some good deals to be had; whether you want something budget-friendly or high-end, you can always put that extra money you save into more RAM or a better CPU. Also, be sure to check out some of these gaming PC deals if you'd rather just grab something already pre-built.
MSI AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT Mech 2X 4GB GDDR6 -- $175, was $190

If you're looking for something that is ultra-budget, then this RX 6500 XT is a good option in the lower range and should let you handle at least some of the main free-to-play games like CS:GO and Rocket League, although you will have to play with graphical compromises. It should also handle indie and casual games, especially older ones like the ones you might find on emulators, so it's also a good option for that sort of budget build. the 4GB of VRAM is not a lot, but again, if you're not planning to play any modern AAA or AA games, then this isn't a bad option.

Read more
Horizon Forbidden West is a marvel — if your PC can handle the heat
Aloy shooting a bow in Horizon Forbidden West.

More than two years after its release on PS5, Horizon Forbidden West is now available on PC. The original game, Horizon Zero Dawn, has become a mainstay for performance testing on PC, and it's one of the pillars of our GPU reviews. The sequel ups the ante in a big way with more graphics options and a more demanding world overall.

I've been playing the game over the past week, drilling down on the best settings, comparing DLSS, FSR, and XeSS, and testing the bounds of performance. Horizon Forbidden West lives up to the standard set by the original release, though weaker GPUs with only 8GB of memory will struggle with high graphics settings and resolutions.
Best settings for Horizon Forbidden West PC

Read more